The sad part is that octopus are the most intelligent and friendly creatures you (admittedly infrequently) meet while scuba diving.
And the most delicious.
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Well, pigs are pretty intelligent and friendly, too. Also delicious.
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I’m in the don’t eat pigs club. Lapsed vegetarian.
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Same!! 
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Went on a winery/tasting tour yesterday and each place fed us, so by dinner time I wasn’t hungry. Lulu was, so we stopped in a little cafe called Elinikon and she had (guess!) tzatziki, taramasalata, and stuffed grape leaves. LLD got a fairly delicious chicken souvlaki. Cheap by Oia standards and fit the bill.
Back to Ammoudi Bay this evening, off to Athens tomorrow.
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Thank you for these reports! I have been to the Greek islands a time or two but your reports remind me of how many dishes I have NOT tried so far! Taramasalata and horiatiki are the ones that I will want to try as soon as I get back.
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Horiatiki / Choriatiki is just Greek for Village salad, the cucumber - tomato - feta salad without lettuce. You can find Village Salad in Montana, Saskatchewan or Alberta, at any Greek restaurant or at most family restaurants owned by Greeks. Horio /Chorio is the word for village. The Ch in Chorio is used in the spelling sometimes, to attempt to translate the Greek H sound which is more guttural than it is in English.
If you try making your own at home, I recommend sourcing Dodonis feta (imported) or using a Greek sheep feta, goat feta, sheep-goat feta, or a Bulgarian feta. I soak the feta in a bowl of water for a couple minutes, then drain, before using. You want the feta in the tubs, rather than the dry pack feta or feta crumbles. Good tomatoes and good olive oil are the key.
You will be able to find a good Taramasalata in any American city with a good Greek restaurant or market. It’s made from roe from a jar, so it can easily be just as good in North America as it would be in Greece. Whereas, the calamari, octopus, sea bream, sea bass, watermelon, pears, tomatoes, potatoes, souvlaki seem to be much better in Greece, that they are over here. ,
Ours are very good, but some of those things in Greece and other parts of Europe are better.
@LulusMom1, I forgot to mention, if you order shrimp or calamari, at a place specialized in seafood, ask for the fresh and the local. Restaurants sometimes offer the cheaper option of prefrozen squid and shrimp from Asia , since it’s more readily available. Fresh local shrimp are usually quite small in my experience, and have a distinct taste, and they may not be available. The fresh local squid is better than the frozen, when I get the choice!
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Thank you for the heads up, Phoenikia. I am intrigued by both but the taramasalata from a jar of roe sounds intriguing.
Your comment on fresh vs frozen rings a bell. I was on Santorini during the rainy season and after 3 or 4 days of constant wind and rain I was told by a restauranter that “the fishermen have not been able to fish for 3 days” and the implication was that the seafood was not going to be as good and I should order lamb or veg dishes. I wonder if that was what he was alluding to? It sounds like it probably is.
I’m sure you had a village salad/ Horiatiki in Greece. You can’t eat salad there without having one. It’s too hot for lettuce to grow in most parts during the summer so Village Salad / Horiatiki is the standard in hot months .
Whereas, in North America, our tomatoes suck 6 to 10 months of the year, and winter tomatoes are expensive relative to iceberg lettuce, so the typical Greek salad in Canada and the US became a lettuce salad with a few slices of tomato and cucumber, and there has usually been a $1-$3 upgrade for a Village Salads / Horiatiki (without lettuce), at family restaurants and Greek restaurants in Canada and the US for as long as I can remember.
Plus, I know some non Greek Canadians who won’t eat tomatoes, so their idea of a Greek salad is iceberg lettuce, feta, maybe cucumbers, Greek dressing, hold the tomatoes . Why waste good and expensive tomatoes in a salad if some customers won’t eat them? Charge a little more , for the people who will upgrade to the real deal!
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Dodonis feta is good but really pricey, I like Bulgarian feta. I rinse mine under cold water and make my own brine, gets rid of that stink foot smell.
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I do not eat salads all that often. I had one on Syros though and it was pretty good. I just never thought to have it again. The restaurant at the Diogenis Hotel in Ermoupoli served a salad that was pretty memorable. Excellent Greek coffee, too.
Sometimes there is the little side salad served with the entre but that is about it. I am sure that I have had them from time to time, but I can not remember them.
If there is a choice I generally order the soup, not the salad.
I have been eating cheddar and gouda cheeses almost exclusively for several years, I think I need to start working my way through some Greek cheeses.
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When the Atkins and the Zone were a big thing 20 years ago, about 2/3 of my friends subsisted on Village Salad / Horiatiki with souvlaki on a stick on the side.
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I usually find Bulgarian or French feta (also, probz not really allowed to be called feta anymore due to EU guidelines but rather sheep’s milk cheese) too creamy for choriatiki.
Greek stuff’s dryer & saltier IME.
Kasseri, Kefalotyri, Graviera, and Mizithra are wonderful.
We use a mix of the first two for yuvetsi (Greek lamb or pork orzo stew).
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The Dodonis feta is from Epirus and not dry. There are Greek Macedonian fetas available that are a creamy-style, much like the Bulgarian, as well as FYROM Macedonian fetas. The imported French feta or feta-style cheese is a usually a similar mild and creamier style.
Greek home cooks and chefs often use drier Greek fetas for cooking and creamier Greek fetas for salads and other uncooked dishes.
Soaking in milk or water removes some salt, if desired. I only starting soaking/ rinsing my feta after my trip in 2004.
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The Bulgarian works perfectly fine for my food related applications and can grab it close by, I’ll buy Macedonian feta when I’m in the suburbs where it’s more readily available. Love Dodonis but it’s almost twice the price 
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Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love both Bulgarian and French feta. It’s just that the ones I’ve had were too creamy for me to add to a Greek salad. I’m very fond of the imported Greek feta available at TJ’s. It’s got the perfect amount of salt & tang & fat, yet doesn’t turn into a cheese slick when I add it. I don’t do the whole slab on top, tho, for the most part.
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Unfortunately, we don’t have Trader Joe’s in Canada.
Farm Boy is owned by a large chain, which seems to offer some similar products. Farm Boy has at least 4 house label fetas that are quite good. The Macedonian and Bulgarian feta on the Danforth and in the burbs of Toronto will be cheaper than Farm Boy.
Ontario Costcos have tubs of Krinos feta, which also does the trick for Costco members.
I splurge on Dodonis when I visit Serano Bakery on Pape in Toronto.
I mostly buy Bulgarian from national chains or Farm Boy feta in brine, when I’m in London, ON.
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Our last night in Santorini we ate at Dimitri’s in Ammoudi Bay. This was a nice meal, but if you have the choice, Sunset is the real star there. Still, a very nice meal. No pictures of the first batch of food, shared appetizers: tzatziki, fried calamari (both ok versions, but nothing special), and tomato fritters, which are apparently an island specialty and we really liked. Slices of tomato in what seemed to be a batter with minced onion and maybe pickled something? Served with spicy mayo. Looked a bit like Korean pancakes. I skipped the next round, while Lulu got marinated anchovies (I had a bite and loved the addition of minced chilies), LLD had tuna ceviche which was ok, not exciting. Mains were grilled sea bass for LLD (best of the trip so far, he said), Lulu got salmon tartare, and I got seafood rice, which was very good (and nice to have a different carb!). More molten chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream for dessert, fairly pedestrian version.
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You might see these in Greece
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